The present invention relates to a thread clamp for a weaving machine and to a weaving machine with a thread clamp of this kind. Swiss Patent CH-A-370 720 discloses a thread clamp which has clamping surfaces formed in the shape of waves, with it being required that the surfaces which touch the thread must lie one upon the other and fit together exactly when the thread is not laid in. This thread clamp is U-shaped and the clamping force is produced only by the elasticity of the limbs. The elevations and depressions are intended to enable a multiple wrapping around or a multiple thickening and thinning of the thread.
It proves disadvantageous that the clamping force of this thread clamp is limited and its use is thereby limited. In particular, technical yarns of plastic and metal with larger thread thicknesses are held in a more or less taut position and substantially held only by friction. Errors in the weft insertion arise as a result of the extremely high initial acceleration during launching, e.g. of one of the thread carriers receiving the thread clamp.